Bermuda-grass-eradicating machine



051.21, 1930. B.BAKER' 1,179,027

BERMUDA GRASS ERADICATING MACHINE Filed 001;. 2, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l WWW:

Oct. 21, 1930. BAKER 1 1,779,027

BERMUDA GRASS ERADICATING MACHINE Filed Oct 2, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ba ire];

Oct. 21, 1930.

B. BAKER BERMUDA GRASS ERADICATING MACHINE Filed pct. 2 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ,Bfezymarv E7;

Oct. 21, 1930. B. AKER 1 1,779, 27

BERMUDA GRASS ERADICATING MACHINE gmwniioz Patented Get. 21, 1930 Application medoaaba" 2, 1928. Y Serial No. 30930.

This invention relates to an improved farm cultivating machine of a species which may be conveniently and properly entitled a Bermuda grass eradicating machine. p

The purpose of the invention s toprovlde a special portable machine constructed for digging'or plowing up ground which has become overgrown with quack grass, Bermuda grass, weeds and the like, and subjecting the plowed ground to'a specialmechanical treatment, which pulverizes theground into small pieces which is allowed to return, while separating and disposing of the grass and weeds in such away as to permit orderly depositing inrows which may be subsequently removed with facility. 1

' Briefly described, the machine embodies a wheel-supported frame adapted to be drawn over the surface by a suitable draft appliance. V Mounted on the frame is an upwardly and rea'rwardly inclined elevator, whose forward end is adjustably supported and equipped with plowing and cutting means; At its upper end thiselevator is disposed to discharge the ascending materialinto an especially dedesigned pulverizing device in which device, the separation and agitation'ta'kes place.

One feature of the construction is the inclined elevator which includes an appropri ately driven endless conveyor and a pointed plow at its forward end, which, as before intimated, is adjustable to regulate the depth of the cutand which is designed to dig the ground up in'a narrowstrip, there being cuttingdisks cooperable with this plow to aid,

in the severing and elevating operation.

An equally importantdistinction is predicatediupon the transversely disposed pulverizing device which is characterized prim cipally by a roller-supported reciprocatory shaker trough, inclined properly to promote expeditious gravitation of the separated grass and weeds, and which has associated therewith a raking and lump'breaking'strue ture to promote more eflicient operation. Other structural features and advantages of the invention will become more; readily apparent from the following description and drawings.-

In the drawings:

.the "operating shaker trough.

- 33 of Figure 1..

in- Figure 1. f 1 V H Attention is now invited to the numeral 19 Figure lis a top plan of a grass eradicating machine constructed in accordance with the present invention. j Figure 2 isasideelevationalview showing means for the reciprooatory Figure 3is a longitudinal sectional view, portions 1n elevation, the section being taken approximately upon: the plane of the line Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on the plane ofwthe line 44 of Figure 1;

j Figure '5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional'view taken approximately upon the plane of the line 5-5 of Figure 1.' 6:

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of" '5 theintakeendof the elevator.;.and I V I Figure 7 is a detailed View of the manually manipulated'clutchr'structure. 1

be observed'that 8 designates a-lforizontal framehaving a pair of traction, wheels 9 at the forward end and providedwith a swivelecl trailer wheel 10 at'the rear.

, Also "2T at the forward end We find diagonal braces 11 connected with spaced beams betweenwhich "a 'draft tongue 12 is fastened. 'The' front wheel axle is designated at 13 and is to'be "emphasizedin that'itis themeans for sup- .80

plying the power: to operate the appliances which are supported on :the 'framework. In this connection attention is invited'to Figure 7 wherein it willbe observed thatll .desige natesa stationaryclutch collar and 15 a complemental toothedslidable clutch collar carrying a sprocket over which'the mainidriving sprocket chain 16;.istrained. Here wejalso {find a thrustspring for the collar 15 andfa pivotally mounted manually "operable shifting lever 17 constructedat itslower end to] slide thecollar 15againstt-he action or tension of the spring. It be conveniently added here that the lever 17 is located within conven ientre'a'ch of the drivers seat 18 as shown which genera-lly designates the material ele vator. This'comprises' a rearwardly' and upwardly inclined structure including spaced I 1 general idea of'the completeconstruc-flt tion will beseen in Figure 8 wherein it will reference character 25.

curved supporting ar1ns 24-. Thesecutting' disks are located adjacent the opposite longitudinal edges of the 'plow plate or blade. The result isthat they cut slightly in advance of the plow thus defining the width of the strip tobe cut, so that the following plow blade can dig under and easily lift the earth.

Then the earthfeeds up and over the" plow l a de where it deposits on the conveyor: and is allowed to ascend. V

The discharge end of the elevator is located over the open top of the pulverizing device.

This device is generally designated by the v The principal part thereof is the elongated shaker-troughwhich is in the form of a box 26whose depth increasesgradually toward the discharge end as indicated in Figure l. The bottom of this box is made up of closely spaced slats 27 and the side walls of the box carry supporting. rollers 28 w hich run upon inclined tracks 29. The'trac'ks are supportechthrough the inediurnof appropriate hangers 30. The discharge end of the shaker trough extends beyond the adjacent traction wheel as indicated in: Figure 4: to conveniently discharge the separated grass and weeds to one side where 7 they may be collected with facilityat some subsequent time. The earth not only subjected to the shaking action of this trough but is also treated by the lump breaking and agitating means adjacent the discharge end.

This means preferably comprises a series or a plurality of' depending fingers 31 terminatingin close spaced proximity to the slats and supported from head structures carried by a pair of spaced parallel rotating crank shafts These crank shafts are journaled on the ,main frame 8." V p vj h '-"It has been before stated that the intake end of the elevator is adjustably mounted so that it may be lifted up to clear the ground or so thatithe depth of the cutmaybe regulated.

1 This is accomplished through the use of a lifting or hoisting bar 33 (see Figures 3 and This bar has a forked lower end, the arms 34: (see Figure 6) of which are connected with the plow blade. The hoistingbar is operable between pairs of rollers 35 and 36. Thelower pair of rollers are supported on the frame structure andthe upper pair are supported on a pair of spaced parallel arched strips 37, the latterbeing supported from the main frame. Also supported on one of these arched members as seen in Figure 3 is a rock shaft 38 which is operated by a lever 39. The rock shaft is provided with a pair of rocker arms 40 having link connection at 41 with the hoisting bar 33. In fact, asshown in Figure 3 the link connection is adjustable so as to vary the leverage. Then too I provide a segmental rack plate 42 and equip the lever with a pawl which is engageable with the teeth. to permit the desired adjustment to be maintained. With this arrangement it is obvious that'hy-swinging the lever in one direc tion the hoisting bar is lowered to allow the intake end ofth'e elevatorto be lowered to the V desiredplac'e. By adjusting the bar in; the opposite'direction, the lower end of the elevator structure can he liftedclear ofthe ground for transportation from. place to P e on h fi d-"I .7 r j It is desirable now to consider the ,means for. transmitting motion to the appliances.

By directing attention to Figure {rj fo'r' eX- ample it will be 'ob served that l3 designates th ma ire S ft, h s s es;l eraaledg o e at on n pp p a ef arill jacent one end isa sprocketover which the aforesaid power chain lG istrained. Thus,

i inotion is imparted to the shaft 4E3 frhnnone of the'front traction wheels. There is aggm gear 44 on this shaft which is in mesh with a nmrlemen a s a 4, arr edby a s ei s f .:6 w ch car ie the trae eaehai fertil fo esa en le ce reyq as Shown .in Figure The result is that the elevator; s p r t f m Shaft thro sllth m ium f th s in erni ng ea s. At n ie dlo th shaftis a e e e g a hin .withla ce n me l, b v eds a i n .right, angularlyf disposed stub shaft 419.- 4p

Th n as s wn i gure lllis stfih an is q ppedw a sp eek t Wheel havin .a complemental sprocket chain- 50 which l ads-d to an is. a n d ove a, sp c e wheel'fi n hw n s t'2 ee ig res) L1 is cra k. s aft is io a e approp iat bearmgs anda suitable connecting strip 5 3 [is connected therewith andwith. the adjacent e d f e ip bca ory sh k "t ees-1 12.

Also as shown in Figures on the opposite 315 end of the shaft 4 3 are beveled gears 54;;an'd

5.. l t named 9 WhiQI iSQ 3 1 I .shaft 56 which, drives the triangularly shaped sprocket chain 57. The sprocket chain 57 in turn drives the aforesaid crank .3120

shafts 32 through the mediun of appropriate sprocket wheel connection. It. follows therefore that the power which is derived from one .of the traction wheels is transmitted through the clutch structure to the main driving:

spro e nlii wh h a fb e :statd operates the main drive shaft 43.,Then

through the several power take-oidevices consistingof the gearing and the sprocket chain structure this power transmitted si- .130

multaneously to the elevator, the shaker trough and the agitating finger structure.

In operation it is understood that the draft tongue is connected with a. suitable lead ve-r hicle such as a tractor or other farm imple ment. Then as 1t is drawn over the surface,

a narrow strip of ground is cut through the' medium of the cutting disk 23 and the complemental plow blade 22. The loosened material travels up and onto the endless conveyor, where it is elevated and discharged into the pulverizing device 25. Here the material is acted upon by the longitudinal reciprocating shaking action of the trough. The ground which is disintegrated is literally sifted between the slats, while the grass and weeds are separated from thelumps of dirt. The grass and weeds gravitate along the slats through the open discharge end of tive and dependable in performance and capable of fulfilling the requirements of an invention of this class in an efficient manner.

It is thought however that the advantages and features w ll be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size and rear' rangement of parts coming Within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice if desired.

- I claim:

1. In a grass and weed eradicating machine of the class described, a portablesupport, amaterial'elevator on'said support, material cutting and delivering means at the intake end of the elevator, and a material pulverizing and separating device at the dis gether with a trough open at its discharge end, having an open bottom, and provided with supporting rollers movable along said track, means forrecipro'cating' said trough to impart a shaking motion thereto, and agitating means adjacentthe discharge end of saidftrough and comprising a pair of spaced parallel crank shafts, agitating' fingers depending into the trough, and means connecting said fingers with said crank shafts.

3. In a grass and weed eradicating machine of the class described, a horizontal supporting frame, an axle journaled in bearings at;

the forward end of the frame, traction wheels carried by said axle, a single swiveled trailer wheel at the rear end of said frame, an upwardly and rearwardly inclined material elevator supported on saidframe, a

plow blade at the forward intake end of the:

elevator, cutting disks associated with said I plow blade, and lowering means for the forward end of the elevator, a transversely disposed pulverizing device at the discharge end of said elevator and embodying a track and roller supported downwardly and outwardly inclined material receiving trough, a crank shaft at one end of said trough, an operating connection between. the crank shaft and trough, a pair of supplemental spaced-paral-K lel crank shafts on the main frame adjacent iii) the discharge end of the trough, agitating fingers mounted on saidlast named crank shaft, a drive shaft mounted onthe frame structure, operating connectlon betweenthe drive shaft and axle, and individual operat ing connection between the end portion of ion;

said drive shaft andsaid crank shafts, to- I gether with a separate driving connection between theintermediate portion of the driver shaft and the elevator.

In testimonywhereof I affix my signature.

BENJAMAN BAKER.

charge end of the elevator, said device coma prising a pair of spacedparallel inclined tracks, together with a trough open at its discharge end, having an open bottom, and

provided with supporting rollers movable along said track. 3

2. In a grass and weed eradicating machine of the class described, a portable support, a material elevator'on said support, material cutting and delivering means at the intake end of the elevator, and a material pulverizing and separating device at the discharge end of the elevator, said device comprising a pair of spaced parallel inclinedtracks, to- 

